Well, I am a bit confused at the time of writing this review. The person who watched the movie last night(thats me) actually enjoyed the movie but the critic inside me and popped up questions which is now asking me to reconsider my decision . It is like having a hearty meal and having enjoyed it but later realizing it was all good while you ate as it was spicy and tasty but it was hardly nourishing! Hey, I hope I am not having you confused!
I would not go into the details about the story line.Because here is where I find Aditya Chopra as story writer giving me a feeling of deja vu.
Dear Aditya,
How long are you going to have your DDLJ hangover? Agreed, agreed. You have tried to give us an out and out comedy this time. But, aren’t we having too much of hero and heroine get out of their respective homes, meet at railway stations and bus stops, say good bye intermittently but get back again and finally fall in love? And hey, I kept wondering what did that Guitar or mandolin thing popping out of Abhishek Bachchan’s knapsack actually was(Shahrukh in DDLJ?). He never seemed to play that!
Again, you redid that scene with Bubli’s mom Kiran Juneja like Shabbo in Veer-Zara, speaking pure punjabi dialogues and you again redid that scene where Vimmi aka Bubli(Rani Mukherji) calls parents back home from a PCO(Remember Preity Zinta calling back home from PCO in V-Z and crying and saying she is fine and missing themsob sob?).Can’t you do without a punjabi charcter or a coconut like baoji in your movies?
Thats the problem with you Adi. You are a good story and dialogue writer but you aren’t able to get rid of your hangovers. You are like a person who dresses for a new party with a new suit and tie but wears the same set of shoes he wore yesterday’s party or wears the same perfume he put on.
Okay, now that I have given vent to my grudges against Adi:), let me start off with my review.
First Half:
Bunty aur Bubli was like a hotch potch of various episoded of a comic series which you watch on a TV or read in comic books, say something which goes like ’Raaja aur raani aur unke kaarnaame’in the first half.
The only difference was that a lot of gloss was added to it. Efforts were made to take the viewer on a roller coaster ride. As soon as you get down from one ride, the amusement park owner tells you, ’’ Let me take you to another ride....More time left sir, another ride...’’
Agreed, the episodes were hilarious, dialogues were witty, acting was cool, music was trendy, but it was stretching the inevitable of the duo getting caught and returning to their roots.
Well they could have also though of sponsors for each con act of theirs. This ’thug’ act of BnB was brought to you by brainvita or Navrattan tel.
Surprising that they keep cheating people time and again with almost everyone talking about them.And still keep moving fearlessly without being caught?? Incredible!!!
Second Half:
In the second half, the director thought what shall I do? Let me have a cop ( all crime and no law would seem like an endless series of hell breaking loose with almost everyone in the world getting conned by Bunty and Bubli) and challenge them? Also, roping in the Big B was a chance to watch dad and son act for the first time! Well, Bunty, Bubli and Big B had a Tom and Jerry kind of chase act in second half.
The duo got caught and finally the cop becomes the redeemer.Lets them loose! Again Incredible!!
Performances
Abishek Bachchan does a good job. Hes arrived finally!He does well in emotional scenes and has a good comic timing.Watch him imitate dad’s Agneepath style dialogue delivery in one of the scences!
Rani Mukerji has consciously tried to go past her all class and less sex appeal and oomph charge. Watch her wear the Shiamak Davar outfits in Nach Baliye song. She does a good job at comedy and looks beautiful. Her chemistry with Abhishek is good.
Amitabh Bachchan as Dashrath Singh does well with the lingo he uses - primarily bihari and UP and Haryanvi acecnt spread across. He rocks in the Aish item number along with chhota B. Drags a bit in the drunken scene but overall gives a laudable performance.
The second half came with an item number by Aishhwarya Rai. The dessert.
Now, that you had enough of everything and were belching, Shaad Ali the director asks you ’Anything else for you sir?’. You ask him what else he has in the menu.
’Hmmmm...let me see..We do have tandoori Bubli and mughlai Bunty...but I think you had that already...ummm...how about butter Dashrath and bubli soup..oh you had that too..uh, er, sir..would you like to have spicy mix of what you had already, tadka maarke?
You give Shaad his tip and run out.As you get set to drive back home, you tell yourself ’’Well the guy wasn’t that bad, was he? ’’
Thats why I would recommend it. Good time pass. But nothing more.